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Yaga Showrunner Kat Sandler Talks Baba Yaga Being the ‘OG Bad Girl of Fairytales’
At San Diego Comic-Con, showrunner and executive producer Kat Sandler discussed adapting her stage play Yaga, based on the Slavic folktale of Baba Yaga, into a television series. She was joined by cast members Clark Backo and Noah Reid, and the conversation focused on how the story translates from theatre to screen and why the Baba Yaga figure appealed to Sandler as the basis for a female anti-hero drama.
Sandler said the shift from stage to screen allowed her to add visual detail and build mystery and tension through camerawork rather than relying on a single wide view. She described Baba Yaga as a rare witch figure recognised across many cultures, with an ambiguous moral code that inspired her to create a female equivalent to anti-heroes such as Dexter and Hannibal. Backo, who plays Detective Carson, said her character is grounded and protective of women, while Reid described the show as blending a 1990s detective story, a pulpy rom-com and a dark mythological thriller, with Backo adding that its humour helps explore weighty themes of justice and morality.
In short
- Kat Sandler discusses adapting her play Yaga for television at Comic-Con.
- Baba Yaga inspired as a female answer to anti-heroes like Dexter.
- Cast describe the show as blending thriller, comedy and rom-com genres.
Explained simply
Yaga is a television drama created by showrunner Kat Sandler, based on the Baba Yaga character from Slavic folklore. The series centres on this folkloric witch figure as a complex main character who is neither clearly good nor clearly evil.
Baba Yaga is a witch character recognised across many cultures in folklore and storytelling traditions, noted for her morally ambiguous nature. Sandler was inspired by this complexity to create a female lead character who challenges convention, comparable to acclaimed television dramas featuring morally flawed male protagonists.
The series combines detective storytelling, romantic comedy and dark mythological elements. It explores themes of justice, morality and the protection of women whilst using humour to examine what truly defines heroism and villainy.